Don Hertz

This one book is almost as long as the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy and yet seems to do little plot advancement. It feels like multiple books stuck together (Is it?) with minimal segue from one to the other. One moment Kvothe has just defeated a group of bandits and a couple of pages later he’s deep in fairyland mastering sex for what seems like 10+ chapters. It all felt a bit disjointed. Kvothe’s complete inability to make any kind of advancement with Denna has reached maximum frustration levels by the end - becoming almost comical.

I listened to the audiobook version of this and found fascinating story ideas delivered in an almost textbook like fashion - devoid of emotion, tension, scares, or anything else that could have drawn me in. Perhaps it was the narration of the audiobook, which had a strange, almost robotic delivery to it. I found myself bored for the majority of it, setting it aside for weeks at a time before I forced myself back because “maybe the next one is better”. I finally made it 25% of the way through the final story and then bailed. I know Ted Chiang is a revered author, but for me this just didn't connect.

It's dense. I started listening to the audio book, stopped almost halfway through when I realized I didn't know who most of the characters were or what was going on. I then picked up the Kindle version of the book and re-started it. That helped a lot. After reading the entire book, I went back and re-started the audio book and listened to it again. The narrator is excellent. If you are reading an electronic version, don't do like I did and only realize there is a glossary of characters, locations, and other terminology at the end of the book when you get there. Bookmark it and flip to it as needed for reference. It would have been really helpful had a realized it was there earlier. The DLC Bookclub podcast was also very helpful as they read through and summarized several chapters each week so after reading through them, I'd listen to the episode that aligned with the chapters I'd just read, which would help clarify some points and draw connections. Despite my struggles at getting through this first book, it was worth the effort. I'm invested in the world and characters. Although epic and long, it is not as “talkie” as the Game of Thrones series. There is plenty of epic action throughout. I'm looking forward to digging into book 2.